Way of the Frying Pan
by KiyumiArashi
Summary: Way of the Frying Pan: Mother Gothel's attempt to separate Eugene and Rapunzel didn't go quite the way she planned. But she'll get her Flower back. How hard could it be? It's not like anyone else is obsessed with eternal youth. And after all, men with pointy teeth are just made up, right? Rapunzel/Eugene, OroGoth… well... sort of…


AN: Welcome to my first crossover fic! I decided to write something in a lighter vein to balance out the seriousness of my other writing. I'll try to include an Author's Note in each chapter, as well as an occasional poll. :) This fic is just for fun, so I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I own neither _Naruto _nor_ Tangled_.

* * *

_"Everything is different," he whispered, "now that I see you…"_

The girl woke slowly, her cheek resting on the damp wood, her body sore. She opened her eyes to see the world blurred and distant, shrouded in cold mist. Her body protested as she sat up, the wood beneath her rocking gently.

_His hand in hers, swirling lights, wood floating on water—_

She remembered the dream, the floating lanterns. It had seemed so real, as though she could touch the lights as they drifted in the wind. Her dress damp, her head aching, and surrounded by water, Rapunzel realized she was indeed outside her tower, and none of it had been a dream.

_Those men had found them again. Just as Eugene had quietly pulled the boat onto the shore, Rapunzel had spotted the ruffians, who quickly realized she had seen them. Then everything fell apart. _

_"Run!" Eugene shouted, the burly thugs closing in._

_"Come with me," she said, "I won't leave you!" She stumbled, her hair caught on some driftwood—why now, when it never had before?— "Eugene!" _

_Then he was there, tugging with strong fingers. The leather tie came loose, her hair starting to spill out of its braid as she gathered it in her arms. Eugene helped her along, running toward an empty boat on the shore, a boat with a sail. _

_Arms swung behind them, Eugene ducking and rolling onto the sand, Rapunzel's skirt snagging and tearing, the thug's hand nearly catching her leg as she ran. "You can have the crown, just let us go," panted Eugene, tossing the satchel back into the face of Rapunzel's pursuer. The one-eyed man swore, but snatched the bag just as it collided with his face. The delay was enough for the fleeing pair to reach the sailboat. They pushed off quickly, the unsecured boat floating swiftly into the current. Rapunzel watched shivering as their pursuers splashed into the water after them, only to stop when the water reached their waists. The men turned and she caught sight of a hunched, cloaked figure behind them, tossing something into the air. The object sailed over the thugs' heads, landing with a splash and a sputtering hiss in the water near Eugene. "Eugene, watch out!" Rapunzel cried, just as the hissing stopped. _

_Suddenly the calm water rose into a storm, gushing in torrents, whirling the boat around. Thrown to the side by the force of the water, the girl nearly fell from the boat. Seizing Rapunzel around the waist, Eugene pulled her into the bottom of the boat. "Hold on and don't let go," he said, before he braced himself and stood. Then all the world was swirling water and liquid fire. The sailboat jolted against the pier, Eugene shouting for Maximus, and the horse rushed to the pier's edge, his reins flying. With a last effort, Eugene's hand twisted into the reins, Maximus's hooves scraping on the pier, trying to find purchase on the worn wood. Squinting as the maelstrom grew more intense, Rapunzel thought she saw Pascal perched on Maximus's head, his sticky tongue wrapped around Eugene's wrist. _

_—within the storm Rapunzel saw light, strange light—_

_—fire and lightning and water and wind and darkness— _

"Rapunzel…" Eugene slurred, and Rapunzel could see that she was not alone in this empty place.

"Eugene, are you alright? Are you hurt?" She could see him clearly now, as the mist began to dissipate. The man was sprawled across Maximus's flank—thank goodness it hadn't been the other way around—and his wrist was twisted at an unnatural angle, still wrapped in Maximus's reins and Pascal's tongue. "Oh, Eugene! I'm so sorry, I'll fix it," she gasped, dragging her sodden hair to his arm and carefully straightening his wrist. Light flowed down the blond strands she wrapped around the break as she sang.

The mist cleared completely as the girl finished healing her companion's injuries. Maximus and Pascal had woken sometime during the song, neither of them injured, although Pascal's tongue was very sore. "Rapunzel?" Eugene sat up suddenly. "Ow-ow-ow-ow! Oh, my head. Why do I feel like I've been run over by a horse?" he groaned.

Maximus snorted and blew into the man's hair, obviously annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah, let me guess." Eugene rolled his eyes. "I broke the universe." He looked around, noting that everyone was alright and that they were all floating on a very small boat in a very large body of water. "That weird storm… did you see how we got here?"

The others all shook their heads. The boat was drifting with the current, no shore visible except for a thin line on the horizon, slowly growing as they approached.

"Okay then…" Eugene continued, rubbing his aching head, "I'm not sure where we are. That storm might have swept us out to sea. That was… really weird. I mean, what kind of storm randomly explodes over ten feet of water?"

Pascal's tongue hit him in the forehead.

"Ow! Quit that!" Eugene glared at the chameleon. Pascal turned to the side and began to change colors. A red pentagram appeared on his side, and then some complicated lines that resembled a cube within another cube.

"Wow," Rapunzel breathed, "I didn't even think that was possible! And you're sure? The physics of that would be… just fascinating…"

"You're talking to the frog," Eugene muttered. "What is he doing? Does that… color-flashing thing he's doing… actually mean something?"

The blonde turned to him with serious eyes. "Pascal says we've been transported by a magic spell that warped the space-time continuum to send us into another universe."

Eugene's eye twitched. "Blondie, I don't think listening to the frog is a good idea anymore…"

* * *

"She should have been thrown clear." The woman's voice grated in the darkness. "Now there's more work to do."

Both thugs glowered as she continued, "And you let them slip right out of your hands. You call yourselves thieves? This all happened because you let her see you before you'd captured Flynn Rider. If you'd been more subtle I wouldn't have had to resort to the potion."

The one-eyed man leaned in toward the woman, his eye glinting. "Your tricks have done us no good at all." He held up the crown, wet and worthless now compared to the girl with the magic hair. "Rider and the girl are gone. Where did you send them?"

"They're far away by now. If we hurry we can follow them with the same spell," Mother Gothel said slyly. "That is, _if_ you want to find them. I could do it myself, but then, well, the revenge would be all mine, now wouldn't it?"

"I don't like this," muttered the other man. "If she hadn't messed up in the first place—"

"What are we waiting for?" his one-eyed brother growled. "Let's get the girl, kill Rider, and have done with it. I'm sick of this already."

"Good choice," the woman purred, "all you need to do is get me some more swine's blood. I have enough of the herbs I need. The faster you bring it to me, the sooner you'll have your fortune and your revenge."

"Get your own blood!" snapped the impatient man. "All we've done for you so far has been a waste!"

"Remember… " Mother Gothel whispered darkly, "…soon we will have the blood of Flynn Rider…"

Their eyes glinting at this reminder, the Stabbington brothers slunk back into the night to follow her commands.

* * *

"Finally," Flynn sighed, "we're getting somewhere." A long bridge that stretched across the water grew steadily closer as he spoke. People crossed the bridge in both directions, hurrying about their business, paying no mind to the bedraggled group floating toward them. Soon, the boat knocked against one of the pillars supporting the bridge, and Flynn grabbed hold of the wood column. A shout from above told him that they had been noticed. Helping hands soon transferred Flynn, Rapunzel, Maximus, and Pascal to the bridge.

"Where are we?" Rapunzel asked, her hair still spilling over the side of the bridge and into the water. The crowd murmured around her as several men began to haul the wet rope of hair up onto the bridge.

A boy with a hat pulled down toward his eyes stepped forward from the quickly gathering crowd to answer. "You are in the Land of Wave, and this is the Great Naruto Bridge." He studied the odd group, his eyes lingering on the soggy golden coils still being hoisted onto the bridge. "You have a lot of hair."

* * *

In another world, a dark ritual was completed, and a vial shattered on the ground. Howling winds rushed upon three souls bent on revenge, and a doorway between the two universes began to open once more.

* * *

AN: And so the adventure begins! Please review, and please vote on the new poll! What would you like me to call Flynn/Eugene in narration? Flynn or Eugene?


End file.
